[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 14]
[House]
[Pages 20289-20291]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FIRST RESPONDERS PASSPORT ACT OF 2015

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 3750) to waive the passport fees for first responders proceeding 
abroad to aid a foreign country suffering from a natural disaster, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3750

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``First Responders Passport 
     Act of 2015''.

     SEC. 2. PASSPORTS FOR FIRST RESPONDERS.

       (a) In General.--Subsection (a) of section 1 of the 
     Passport Act of June 4, 1920 (22 U.S.C. 214), is amended, in 
     the third sentence, by inserting after ``to attend a funeral 
     or memorial service for such member;'' the following: ``from 
     an individual who is operating under a contract, grant, or 
     cooperative agreement with the United States Government, 
     including a volunteer, who is proceeding abroad to aid a 
     foreign country suffering from a natural disaster as 
     determined by the Secretary;''.
       (b) Report.--Not later than 90 days after the end of the 
     first full fiscal year after the date of the enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 
     Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 
     and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate a report 
     on the number of waivers of fees for the execution and 
     issuance of passports to first responders under section 1 of 
     the Act of June 4, 1920, as amended by subsection (a) of this 
     section, for such fiscal year.


[[Page 20290]]


  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Royce) and the gentleman from Pennsylvania (Mr. Brendan 
F. Boyle) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 
5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include 
any extraneous material for the Record.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I begin by thanking Representative Darrell Issa, a senior member of 
the Foreign Affairs Committee and the former chairman of the Committee 
on Oversight and Government Reform, for authoring this very 
straightforward piece of legislation.
  When catastrophe strikes overseas, America's first responders deploy 
all over the world. They assist in some of the most difficult and 
damaged environments that we could only imagine: the 2010 earthquake in 
Haiti, the 2014 flooding in Paraguay, earlier this year following the 
earthquake in Nepal. Rushing to the front lines of human need, leaving 
their own families, they represent the true face of American 
compassion.
  The gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) is at the cutting edge of 
this issue, and his trips to visit these spots speak on an issue that 
he knows of very well when he says that these brave men and women have 
saved countless lives on this planet over the years. This bill that he 
has written, the First Responders Passport Act, is an important 
amendment to the Passport Act of 1920, allowing the Secretary of State 
to waive passport fees for those first responders who have volunteered 
to serve our country and volunteered to travel abroad to aid others in 
their time of greatest need.
  Currently, the passport fee waiver can only be exercised for a very 
limited group, largely comprised of officers or employees of the U.S. 
traveling abroad on official duty. What this bill would do is to extend 
that waiver to include first responders that are working under a 
contract with the United States Government.
  The U.S. Agency for International Development contracts with 
approximately 450 first responders every year. These first responders 
are required to maintain a valid passport in case of immediate 
deployment, which can cost as much as $165 per passport for a first-
time applicant. These fees are not covered by the USAID contract or the 
country but, rather, are paid out of pocket by the individual.
  These first responders are serving in support of our national 
interests. They are putting their own lives at risk to provide 
immediate medical response following a natural disaster like the '04 
Indian Ocean earthquake, which unleashed devastating tsunamis on 
Thailand, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
  Many of the first responders that deploy abroad come from the search 
and rescue teams based in Los Angeles County, California, and Fairfax 
County, Virginia. Waiving the passport fee for those brave and selfless 
enough to help those in the greatest need is the least we can do. I 
commend Congressman Issa for doing this.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume.
  I rise in support of this measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Chairman Royce, Ranking Member 
Engel, my colleague and friend from California (Mr. Issa), and my 
fellow Foreign Affairs Committee colleagues for their unanimous support 
in helping our first responders answer the call to service when a 
natural disaster strikes abroad.
  Every year, Americans bravely go abroad to help victims of natural 
disasters in foreign lands, such as the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the 
2008 cyclone in Yemen, and 2015 Hurricane Patricia in Mexico, just to 
name a few.
  Earlier this year, the world was shocked by the images of Nepal's 7.8 
magnitude earthquake that killed over 8,600 and injured over 16,800. 
The United States was one of the largest donors to the relief and 
rebuilding effort in the wake of this catastrophe through charitable 
donations, DOD donations, and search and rescue operations and efforts. 
The United States' search and rescue teams searched for survivors 
trapped in debris.
  These first responders continuously put their lives on the line at 
home and abroad. Mr. Speaker, this is an example of American 
leadership. Their bravery and efforts do not go unnoticed. We should 
all do what we can to make their endeavors easier.
  Unfortunately, American contractors and volunteers, despite being 
coordinated by USAID, are subject to passport fees at their own expense 
when attempting to travel abroad in response to these disasters. To 
alleviate this obstacle, H.R. 3750, the First Responders Passport Act, 
would allow the Secretary of State to grant their passports free of 
charge.
  I am proud to have introduced this commonsense bill with the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Issa) because contractors and volunteers 
deserve the same treatment as government employees when they are being 
sent abroad to offer their service on behalf of our Nation.
  Cultural diplomacy, like the services these brave men and women 
provide in the face of international disasters, is critical to our 
international image and international relations. I ask that my 
colleagues support this bipartisan, commonsense legislation.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Issa), a senior member of the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs and the author of this bill.
  Mr. ISSA. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Royce and Ranking Member 
Engel for bringing this, in a timely fashion, to the floor. I want to 
thank my partner in this legislation, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania.
  Now, Congress often does things and makes a lot of to-do about it. I 
don't want to overstate this simple technical correction, but I don't 
want to understate it either. The fact is America is proud of people 
who volunteer or choose, in the worst possible conditions, to go in 
harm's way, to go in devastation's way.
  It is a small thing, but very meaningful, to say that, one, they 
won't have to pay for their passport out of their own pocket, and, two, 
although normally the contracts for these first responders come out of 
Los Angeles and Fairfax County, should there be a major disaster again 
that is beyond these first responders' capability, the law will allow 
for anyone authorized by the United States Government to go and help in 
these areas to be granted, as necessary, a passport, including 
expediting fees, in order to get to the devastation quickly and with a 
minimum of bureaucracy involved.
  America knows about Haiti, Nepal, Japan, and so many other devastated 
areas over the last few years. Until today, America never took the time 
to simply say in this small way thank you to our first responders: 
Thank you for what you do. We certainly appreciate it enough for it to 
come out of the taxpayers' pocket to make sure it doesn't have to come 
out of your own pocket when you are going, on behalf of the American 
people, to help those in need around the world.
  Again, I thank the chairman for his leadership in bringing this in a 
timely fashion. I urge support.
  Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 
such time as I may consume for the purpose of closing.
  I would just say, briefly, that we are reminded each and every day 
that American leadership abroad is needed now more than ever. Yes, this 
has a military component, it has an international relations and 
diplomacy component, and it also has this soft power component.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a part of the soft power of the United States, 
harnessing the idealism and volunteerism of our people to do good for 
others around the world when they are most in need. This

[[Page 20291]]

is a rather simple step that we can take to help those who are helping 
others. I am proud to support it, and I ask that all Members support 
our legislation.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I would like to recognize the work of Representative Issa and also 
Representative Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania. I think that this 
bill, this First Responders Passport Act, is going to be an important 
change in the law in terms of encouraging people to be first 
responders.

                              {time}  1145

  By extending a courtesy that we currently grant to employees of the 
government, we here have an opportunity to get first responders who 
have that expertise, those volunteers who travel the greatest distances 
to work in the harshest of conditions and to help those in greatest 
need. This, to me, I think is a great concept.
  I urge my colleagues to support this bill so that we can take care of 
those who take care of others, our first responders.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, as the Ranking Member of the Judiciary 
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and 
Investigations, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3750, the 
``First Responders Passport Act of 2015.''
  I thank Representative Darrell Issa and the House Foreign Affairs 
Committee Leadership, Chairman Royce and Ranking Member Engel for 
shepherding this legislation along.
  This bill amends the Passport Act of June 4, 1920 to waive passport 
fees for an individual who has contracted with the U.S. government, 
including a volunteer, to aid a foreign country suffering from a 
qualifying natural disaster.
  As the African proverb goes, ``in moments of crisis, the wise build 
bridges--'' this is what our first responders do: they build bridges 
for those caught in natural disasters.
  In today's world fraught with natural disasters from Storm Desert 
that our friends in the U.K. are facing to cyclones, hurricanes and 
tornadoes across the globe, more than ever, it is very important that 
we build bridges by equipping our first responders dedicated to aiding 
countries across the globe suffering from natural disasters.
  According to scientists, the first half of this decade featured 
deadly climate-related disasters, among them the great floods in 
Thailand in 2011, Hurricane Sandy in the United States in 2012, and 
Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines in 2013.
  Moreover, the year 2014 was the earth's warmest in 134 years of 
recorded history, and 2015 could well turn out to be even hotter.
  According to some scientists, it is difficult to not draw a nexus 
between climate change and some of the natural disasters we have 
suffered on planet earth in this decade alone.
  In the end, climate related and natural disasters have cost the world 
a lot in lives as well as economically.
  In fact, according to the World Meteorological Organization, 1,300 
climate-related natural disasters have been recorded in Africa between 
1970 to 2012.
  In this time frame, these natural disasters in Africa have caused the 
loss of 700,000 lives and caused economic damage worth U.S. $26 
billion.
  Experts inform us that in 2012 there were 99 natural disasters in 
Africa--twice the long-term average.
  The passage of H.R. 3750 is very timely, especially in light of 
recent talks in Le Bourget, France at the Conference of Parties (COP 
21), with the objective of achieving a legally binding and universal 
agreement on climate, from all the nations of the world.
  In other words, the conveners at COP 21 seek to protect our precious 
earth, address the nexus between our protection of precious earth to 
some of the natural disasters we are suffering and reach a consensus on 
how we leave our children their inheritance of the earth better than we 
found it.
  Every day, hundreds of thousands of first responders heed the call 
during natural disasters to protect and serve the people of planet 
earth who find themselves at the mercy of mother-nature during natural 
disasters.
  I hold in high regard the service of our first responders: 
firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency response technicians, 
nurses, emergency room doctors, and the dozens of other professionals 
and volunteers who are the ultimate public servants.
  From Katrina to earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal, time and time again, 
first responders have put their lives and comfort on the line in order 
to rescue survivors, care for those in need, and prevent the further 
loss of life.
  H.R. 3750 is very critical because it aims to reduce personal costs 
borne by first responders--people who help others in their time of 
need.
  According to the Global Increase in Climate-Related Disasters, we 
face more frequent floods, storms, heat waves, and droughts which are 
connected to greater extremes in temperatures and rainfall.
  Moreover, recent warnings by the U.S. National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, inform us that the global temperature is 
already halfway to the ``two degree warming'' threshold for limiting 
catastrophic climatic impacts.
  As the evidence shows, unequivocally, the dedication of first 
responders is an integral part of bringing relief to parts of the world 
where natural disasters have struck.
  I support this legislation and hope that as we move forward, we 
continue to engage in dialogue about the fact that:
  Climate impacts are not just concerns for the distant future, but are 
already being felt by us and our children;
  All countries, rich and poor are casualties of natural disaster, but 
the death toll is higher among the poor who are more likely to live in 
harm's way, such as in flood-prone areas; and
  It is important to create structures that facilitate the swift 
deployment of first responders to people in dire need of disaster 
relief.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Royce) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 3750, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further 
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.

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